Leaders have made a horrendous mess of things.
Instead of responding to the aggressive power plays of those who call themselves our leaders, shouldn’t we be looking for leadership in ourselves?
I’m not talking about the kind of leadership that seeks to dominate others. Far from it.
I’m thinking about the kind of leadership that elevates ourselves and other people, that restores control over our own day-to-day lives. Leadership of our bodies, our minds and our health. Leadership over the food that we eat and the air that we breathe, over the way that we work and play.
If we hand over responsibility for our lives and our earnings to people we’ve never event met, is it really surprising that they don’t act in our best interests?
Holding power to account
We can’t be experts in all areas of our lives. We need to consult people who are specialists in their fields, in many different areas of life. It’s also essential to hold these people to account. This should go without saying, but in many areas - particularly in the political system - accountability has broken down, and corruption has crept in.
I do get the impression that many more people are engaging with their MPs and councillors, and with the political system generally these days, which I think is a good thing.
But it’s not just about writing to MPs. It’s about becoming aware of how our lives are managed, and taking a more active role in that. Consumer power, for example.
One of my friends was distraught recently, when she found out that one of her favourite independent shops was due to close down. I commiserated with her, and then pointed out that even our small choices can make a difference, and it helps even just to buy one thing from an independent outlet each week.
My friend rapidly changed the subject.
I was really trying not to sound preachy (hmm… maybe I failed) because that’s the opposite of what I’m about. This is not about me, or my public image (or even my private image of myself). It’s emphatically not about shame or guilt, or about being a “pure” or “ethical” or “good” person.
It’s about making choices to make our lives the way we want them to be.
For example, I pay for a subscription to content I enjoy on Substack. The reason I pay is not to say thanks to the author, or to feel good about myself. It's not because I feel it's “right”, or "the decent thing to do".
It's because he writes excellent, well-researched content and I want him to continue doing that. I want this for selfish reasons, because it benefits me to have that kind of content to read.
Comfort zone
Without any disrespect to my friend, who is a very intelligent, responsible and hard-working person, I think many people get caught up in a kind of power and responsibility comfort zone. It probably operates at a deep subconscious level. They see anything that takes them out of that comfort zone as difficult and scary. I think that’s why she changed the conversation topic so quickly.
People who think in this way often have an automatic expectation that the government and other institutions are there to provide for them - to provide for all of us, and sometimes they even see it as a kind of race to get the best benefits.
My friend is a highly capable person who cares and provides for others too, but this indoctrination runs at a deep level. Before she changed the subject, she told me that she’d spoken to the shop manager, said she loved their products and that they were such good value, and she was so upset that they were closing down. The way she described it suggested she thought they were taking away an important service, not that this was a business that was no longer economically viable and sadly had to close!
I think this indoctrination begins at birth. Babies are totally dependent on their parents, and as they grow up, they are told that the teacher at school is the authority figure.
Society teaches them to trust people who look a certain way, who dress in a certain way, and who speak in a certain way - especially if those people are on the radio or TV. We learn these things at a very young age, when our minds are most open to learning new things.
As we grow up, we learn that the State is there to look after us and provide for our needs.
So… am I an anarchist?
Anarchism is a loaded word. I’m very interested in agorism and voluntaryism, both of which are types of anarchism. But I’ve seen the terrible, usually violent upheavals that societies go through when power systems change. I’m probably more of a minarchist*.
I think we have a good societal structure in place in the UK, which just needs a few tweaks. Well, maybe more than a few.
Having said all this, I do feel that discussing types of governance can be a bit of a rabbit hole. The most important thing is
Self-governance
Aggression and violence begins and ends in ourselves, and with all the horrific wars and atrocities being perpetrated in many parts of the world right now, many of them in danger of escalating, I think this is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.
We could start by asking ourselves, "What small actions are we taking in our lives that make violence and aggression more likely?"
To people who feel powerless, just a cog in the big wheel of life, this must look like a very bizarre thing to suggest. I hope my posts show that each one of us really can make a difference.
* My predictive text wants to change that to “monarchist” which I am definitely not!
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